Saturday, September 29, 2007

I mentioned Best Web Gallery in my previous posting about Nick La's, Web Designer Wall. Best Web Gallery is an inspirational gallery site where they've collected a wide range of quality design websites (Flash & CSS), blogs and resources. Beside the gallery, they also have extra side notes, where they post interesting URLs, resource links, and any design related news. I noticed a lot of cool websites that I had only seen recently were already in the gallery... go check it out at http://bestwebgallery.com/ - enjoy!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

I recently came across a picture of the New Zealand All Blacks performing their traditional 'Haka'. The image was so visually striking that it piqued my curiosity enough to do a quick YouTube search. I was delighted to see that there were numerous videos of the All Blacks performing the 'Haka', very cool indeed. I know that I wouldn't want to be on the opposing team trying to stare them down... Check out the video on YouTube.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

GDC Manitoba is once again proud to present another Button Swap. What is it? A call for GDC Manitoba members to design artwork for a full-colour one-inch lapel button. You will receive 100 buttons in return, and out of this 100 you receive one of each swap participant's design. The remainder are your own. Button artwork and payment is due no later than Thursday, November 15 at 5:00 PM. For more information, visit the GDC Manitoba website.

I recently came across the first anniversary issue of GOOD magazine at the local bookstore... the issue has a striking orange cover with an x-ray photo of an AK47. I couldn't help but pick it up to take a closer look. Upon closer inspection, I found myself captivated by the interesting use of info graphics and symbols throughout the magazine, the clean layouts, as well as the range of topics covered. I'd recommend that you pick up your own copy if you have a chance. Subscriptions are cheap and 100% of your money goes to help the organization of your choice, visit http://www.goodmagazine.com/ - Cheers!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Along the same line as my previous post about Christophe Huet - 'Photoshop King', I remember coming across Brian Dilg Photography's website some time ago... similar to the 'making-of' slideshow on Christophe's website, Brian Dilg has a section of his website dedicated to imaging/image re-touching. By mousing over an image one can see the original from which the final piece was created. Some of the image manipulation is very subtle where others are more extreme... Brian provides a brief description for the process involved with each image. Definitely worth a look! Check it out at http://www.briandilg.com/

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Christophe Huet is a master of 'the Adobe' ;) His Photoshop re-touching work is absolutely amazing... his website is quite interesting, each portfolio piece includes a 'making-of' slideshow, showing the images' evolution from start to finish. Quite clever and inspiring! Check out his website at http://www.christophehuet.com/

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

I spent some time getting to know the Toronto subway system this summer and noticed the cool original typography on the tiles in many stations... Joe Clark has a study on this site of the history of typography in the subway system.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Takeji Nakagawa aka Take-G, is an insanely talented Japanese craftsman who produces unique and stunningly beautiful wooden 'toys'. Take-G's toys are constructed using Yosegi-Mokuzougan, or joined wooden block construction. The craft involves the combination of original and unique colours and textures of different kinds of wood to express artistic patterns. You have to see his work! Gorgeous would be an understatement... check out the Take-G website and Take-G blog. Cheers!

Friday, September 14, 2007

This has got to be one of the best design/design ideas that I've seen in some time. The LifeStraw is a portable water purification tool that purifies water from potential pathogens like typhoid, cholera, dysentary and diarrhea (via Inhabitat)... check out the original posting here.

I've been a fan of comics and superheroes for a long time. Ironman would definitely be one of my all-time favourites... I can't describe how excited I am to see that there's an Ironman movie in the works. Whether or not the movie is actually any good is something else altogether (the Ironman movie trailer shows promise)... I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

I recently came across this website by James Jean, a wickedly talented artist based in LA. I'm sure that many of you will recognize his work from some place or another... he has a very impressive client list. Check out his latest work at http://www.processrecess.com (this piece has to be one of my favourites).

Monday, September 10, 2007

'Helvetica - A Documentary Film by Gary Hustwit' is going to be showing in Winnipeg (one night only), Friday October 19th, 7:00pm at Cinemateque. As far as I'm aware, no advance tickets are available. The box office opens 30 minutes before the screening, cash only. I'm anticipating that this will be a sold-out show, so arrive early and hope for the best. Hope to see you there!

Friday, September 7, 2007

The learn list is a super simple resource that aims to gather the best tutorial and book links from all over the web. This should be a handy resource for designers of print and web using Adobe products. The programs that are covered include Flash, Photoshop, Fireworks, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, web stuff (actionscript, PHP, CSS, XML), and After effects... definitely worth a look and bookmark, check it out at http://www.thelearnlist.com ~ Enjoy!

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Design Can Change is a non-commercial smashLAB initiative to bring together graphic designers from around the world to raise awareness for environmental impact and sustainable design practices. The Design Can Change pledge:

In my professional practice, I will endeavor to:Learn: Engage in the topic and seek to understand the issueThink: Make a sustainable mindset second natureAct: Put my knowledge to use in my daily workInform: Share information and build awareness for sustainabilityUnite: Spark change through collective strength

It's an initiative that I fully support. For more information, resources and/or to take the pledge, check out the website at http://www.designcanchange.org/

A recent BBC News headline caught my eye when skimming my usual morning dose of RSS feeds/email/blogs. I've mixed feelings about this idea... cool as they are, these inevitably will be developed into military applications (if not already) and if/when they reach the consumer population they'll be so ridiculously expensive that only the extremely wealthy will be able to afford them. The idea and research is still cool though, and it makes you wonder what other 'super powers' could actually become a reality in the not-so-distant future. Check out the BBC News article here.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

I came across this cool blog a while back. I'm impressed that the author has been able to keep up with their ambitious, 'skull-a-day' objective. Some very creative executions of a skull image... and some cool 'skull-a-day reader-submissions'... definitely worth taking a look at. Check it out at http://skulladay.blogspot.com/

Apologies for the lack of posts this past week. I've been away on holidays and thus have tried to avoid using the computer this past week. Anyhow, after getting back to work and skimming through a plethora of emails/blogs/RSS feeds, I'm happy to say I feel refreshed and ready to dig in. One of the links that caught my eye was Top 5 Sexiest Sustainable Sports Cars (via inhabitat). Check out the link! Some of these vehicles are downright bizarre, like the Nissan Mixim. Now, if only they had included MSRP for each model... ;)